A perfect re"treat"

I was fortunate to spend Saturday south of Edmonton at a cottage on Pigeon Lake with six other amazing women.

The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the big blue sky so we walked, and we talked. We ate and we drank. We played games and we laughed. We built a snowman and at the end of the day I went home feeling completely at ease.

Thank you Lory for opening your home to us yet again. It was exactly what I needed.

In search of snow...

This winter has been the barest I can ever recall. We cobbled together a skiff of snow for the holidays to make it feel somewhat like Christmas but it has been bare, brown and warm'ish all winter long.

I was in Calgary last week taking a block-week intensive elective and when I finally emerged from books, papers, presentations and procrastination I felt like heading to the mountains in search of some "real" snow.

After celebrating little Miss C's first birthday on the Saturday, I headed to Banff with a familiar character (can you recognize Will anyone?) to celebrate our friend Amy's birthday. We had a fabulous visit, homemade pizza and wine and on Sunday, the best part of all......cross-country skiing outside of Lake Louise. There was a lot of uphill climbing and then some downhill spills but we had so much fun and it felt good to be out gliding through the snow again.

I think I'll be heading west more often if winter doesn't show up properly soon. The lure of snow is just too great! Thanks again Dave, Amy and Will for a fun Banff adventure.